In a Nova's Glow
by SerenityFalconNormandy
Summary: Freeform Prompt: Kiss Me Jehanne Shepard visits Thane Krios at Huerta Memorial in between missions.


"Kiss me."

Somehow, no matter what planet you were on or which species ran them, all hospitals smelled the same. Bleach, other disinfectants, the sweet-and-sour scent of medi-gel, and the reek of sickness that managed to power its way through all the attempts to cover it up. The difference this time was that there were far more people than Huerta had beds. Her gut twisted. Would Thane end up sleeping on the floor while Kepral's slowly took him away from her?

Jehanne Shepard closed her eyes, taking a steadying breath before entering the doors. Chaos reigned inside, doctors and anyone with medical training rushing to and fro to assist the wounded soldiers and refugees that had escaped the first wave of Reaper attacks. Her omni-tool chimed with an update on Kaidan. She would have to visit him as well. _Talk about awkward._

Visiting the current boyfriend while the ex-boyfriend was only a few hundred yards away was definitely not on Jehanne's list of 'Things to do Before Galactic Destruction'. The thing was, she loved Thane, she could put that word to the emotion now, but she still loved Kaidan, too. Her regular life could never be nice and simple, why should her love life be any different? She let out a grumpy mutter as she entered the elevator to the upper floors of Huerta, her tool broadcasting her Spectre authorization so she didn't have to futz with clearances or any other annoyances.

Fingers danced over her tool, turning on her music so she didn't have to listen to the elevator's broadcasts or the awful music that interspersed them. Random shuffle pulled up one of the bands from the 20th that Kaidan had gotten her hooked on, Linkin Park.

 _Take me down to the river bend_

 _Take me down to the fighting end_

 _Wash the poison from off my skin_

 _Show me how to be whole again_

Mouthing along to the lyrics, she wondered how everyone could have figured out FTL travel and quantum entanglement, but not how to make the elevators go faster. The doors finally snapped open, and Jehanne stepped out into the ward. Like a magnet, Thane's combat meditations, what she considered the drell version of tai-chi, drew her gaze. A flick, and the music ended.

 _Wash the sorrow from off my skin_

 _And show me how to be whole again_

He turned as Jehanne drew close, deep liquid eyes lighting up as they took her in. "Siha. I heard Earth was under attack. I didn't know you'd made it out."

Jehanne swallowed. It wasn't quite the greeting she had hoped for. There was decidedly less sweeping and kissing. Maybe the time she'd spent under house arrest had cooled his feelings for her. After all, she hadn't received any messages from him. "Thane. It's been too long. I was beginning to think I'd never see you again."

He leaned into her, stepping into range for their biotic fields to touch. Their hands hovered close to each other, biotic fields tingling in a dance few beings would ever get to experience. Thane closed his nictitating membranes then his eyelids in the long, slow blink she knew meant he was savoring the unique form of contact, and gathering his thoughts. "I sent a few messages while you were incarcerated, but I suspect they never got past the guards. What are you doing here?"

"Visiting a … friend… Kaidan. He got hurt protecting me." Dammit, she wasn't going to be forced into choosing between them, no way. She loved them both, but Jehanne knew she had to wait and see how they would react to that.

Thane stepped back, and the tingling faded from their biotic fields. "The human biotic in intensive care." He paused to cough. "I saw the marks of an implant."

"Yeah." The cough didn't sound bad, but the cybernetics in her ears picked up a burr that hadn't been there on the SR-2.

"We have spoken." _Ohgodwhy_. "He was holding out hope a woman would visit him… Is there something I should know about you two?"

"We were together for awhile before the first Normandy was destroyed."

"And grew apart, I gather." _More like I got blown out into space and died, but you could say that, I guess._ She shrugged. Thane was silent, considering her. He reached for her, linking their hands, tangling fingers together. "Your enemies may try to finish him off here. I will look out for him."

Some of the tension drained from Jehanne's shoulders, and she smiled at him. "I appreciate it, Thane."

"I am nearing the end of my life. It is a good time to be generous." She drew in a sharp breath, wanting to object, and tears sprang to her eyes. The gentle touch of his forehead to hers stopped her. "I have only a few loves left, and you are my last. Let me do what I can for you."

 _Kiss me._ Jehanne felt the lump in her throat, and rather than trying to choke out the words, she leaned in and pressed her lips to his. The pleasant warm-numb feeling of the venom on his scales flooded her mouth. She didn't know what she'd done to deserve such understanding from Thane. Like hell was she going to let him go without a fight, and without him knowing just how much she loved him.

"Well… I see you want to make up for lost time." It was a pleasant buzz against her lips, and the venom flooding her system gave it a sibilant reverb. When Thane pulled back, the lights were ringed with small haloes as the hallucinogenic components kicked in, and his movements left little after-image trails. She refocused on him as he cupped her cheek. "I should warn you that you may not want your final memories of me to be in this hospital. Kepral's Syndrome is… not kind."

"I've got a few free moments,. Do you want to spend a little time together?" She flashed him the keypass for Anderson's- her-apartment. They could make some memories outside of the hospital.

"I would like that." They looked out of the window at the curve of the Citadel, the ward arms extending so far they faded in the distance. "You should understand that my cardiovascular system is not what it wa- Mmm."

Jehanne interrupted him with another kiss. She didn't _care._ If all they could do was lie next to each other and hold each other, she'd take it. He swept her midnight black bob away from her face, smooth palms warm against her neck and the back of her head. This time, she was the one to pull away, breathing across his lips, "You were saying something?"

"I've missed you, Shepard."

A half-sobbing laugh escaped her as she burrowed into his chest, Thane's arms coming around her in a hug she hadn't known she needed. There would be time to worry about Kaidan later. Thane needed her now.


End file.
